We had a bit of a lull there for a while, (for which we apologize) but we are back and better than ever! We have used the time to make some very exciting enhancements to your Shadowbane experience.

In celebration of our return and upgrades, we will be wiping the server and restarting on the Vorringia map. The 2.0 patch (detailed below) has been named “Shroud of Ardan.”

Stay tuned to this announcements forum -- we will be announcing the wipe date in the next few days!

We’ve poured over community feedback regarding the previous patch and did some very major polishing and pruning. We've combed over the previous patch (1.5) and only kept the best of the best, using your feedback to guide us. Changes that were not well-received have been completely removed, and lukewarm ones were scaled back.

Going forward, you can expect bug fixes, balance tweaks, small content updates, and quality-of-life changes to occur on a two-week cycle. Major changes, that dramatically affect the metagame, will be few and far between. This will make the game feel like a living, breathing world again without a litany of confusing changes to study after every patch. The pace of change will be more bearable, and our resources will be up to date to keep you in the loop.

"Our entire patch philosophy has changed."

Our entire patch philosophy has changed. We want to be leaner, slow down the pace of change, but hold ourselves to a higher standard, and polish everything to high quality before you see it. We want to focus on content, useless disciplines and unused parts of the game - instead of large reworks to classes or meta changes.

The bottom line is this: we're all super excited to wipe this slate clean and begin anew with you all. For now, that means we've reverted a lot of our Reforged in Flame reworks, and we've kept some of the best received ones or spruced them up a bit for you.

Stability does not make a flashy headline, but its an issue most of the community feel very strongly about.

Those people will be happy to learn that we have greatly improved our sync and stability. Testers describe it "as good or better" than classic Shadowbane from the old Ubi days.

These issues continue to be elusive beasts, however. While we would like to say they are a thing of the past, you may still notice hiccups. We need your help to push our systems further, but we're confident that we've finally gotten to a point that is viable for enjoyable play. So, get out there and lay down some banes!

As you likely noticed, our website and forums have found their way into this decade! We wanted things to feel like Shadowbane, but also new and exciting. This revamp even extends to our wiki, which has received a massive facelift. We hope your eyes enjoy our new uniform style!

Speaking of the new wiki, it's been updated with all of the Shroud of Ardan patch information. Check it out!

You can also find our patch notes in the post below, and you can find them in the patch notes forum. If you haven't played in a while, we also created a Master Patch Notes that shows ALL of our changes to date - but please know it's a bit of a read. Digest it slowly!

Forumbane has ranked up with the introduction of the Kill Board: an out-of-game map that pulls game data to show you where the action is at. Use it for bragging rights, or to find out who you have to kill to earn them.

We plan on putting more resources into projects which allow you to show off your skills in the future.

Check out the Kill Board link at the top of the forum.

The “Hotzone” system just got a huge upgrade.

We've made hotzones more about endgame, engaging content. Not about PLing your lowbies, or grinding for hours looking for resources. We're aiming for no 'near useless' hotzones - like Sevaath Mere. Instead, each hotzone will turn into a mini lore event, booming with the dangers of real endgame content. The camps in the zone will be changed to R5-R7 enemies, even the low level zones. Then when it's over, they'll go back to their normal mobs and levels.

"We’ve created this system as a kind of throwback to [FC] events."

On that note, many of our veterans recall the excitement of “FC Events”, that is, feature character events which had actors playing iconic Shadowbane figures and roleplaying alongside the players. We’ve created this system as a kind of throwback to these events. Each hotzone is going to have a central figure in it, with difficult encounters, vastly increased risk - but also vastly increased rewards. Eventually, when we implement more zones, every zone will feel different - with unique stories, lore, mechanics and unique item rewards. At first, we'll launch with a couple of these zones and slowly add more.

For those who liked to use the hotzone to farm or power-level, you can still use them the same way as before. The difference is that now, you can now choose to put yourself at greater risk in hopes of extra XP and rewards.

Don’t you hate finding the Shadowbane file directory and messing with internal files before you play? Do you long for the days when the software took care of all that stuff for you? Well your wait is over.

Presenting the official Shadowbane Emulator patcher. The patcher takes care of updating and maintaining the game files so all you have to worry about is playing to crush. This allows us to make bug fixes more quickly, adapt to changes in the meta and give you much smaller updates, but more often.

We'll make a post closer to launch with how to get your hands on the launcher/patcher and client.

Another advantage of the patcher is that it allows us to better control multiboxing. We don’t think it's very fun when you are basically required to run multiple game clients to stay competitive. Therefore, we will be using some creative coding to restrict everyone to just a single client for PvP.

You may still log in with multiple clients, but each one after the first will have no ability to attack, cast, or basically do anything PvP related. These secondary characters can still do mundane tasks like managing city assets or receive power-leveling.

Our future patches will reflect this changing tradition by introducing game improvements that absolve you of duties you needed multiboxing for before. Rest assured, we're going to make this transition to a singleboxing Shadowbane as smooth as possible.

You may have noticed that the titles on our team have changed - it's a bit more than that - and that's because we've completed a hierarchy shake up of sorts. We've made everyone's voice equal, and committed to putting everyone on the same level in terms of what direction we take the project in.

This will help us stay focused, but also ensure we have all of the appropriate checks and balances on what we are working on.

Patch 2.0, "Shroud of Ardan", encompasses all of the knowledge we have obtained over the last several years on how to make a great Shadowbane experience. The tweaks and modifications found below are the result of thousands of collective hours of chat with not only our own team, but members of the community at large. We sincerely hope you enjoy it!

With the return of the launcher/patcher, we have introduced a new multi-boxing system. Characters you log in after the first cannot cast or attack and will be easier to kill. This means you won't be able to use additional clients for PvP, but they are still viable for non-combat activities such as city management or receiving power-leveling.

A new system for hotzones has been implemented. Any zone that becomes a hotzone will auto-populate with high level mobs. Zones that previously hosted R2/R3 mobs will now have R5-R8 encounters and rewards appropriate for endgame characters.

Additionally, each hotzone comes with its own unique pre-programmed lore event. You may choose to participate in these events at your peril for the chance to earn unique prizes. We warn you, these events may have interesting mechanics that challenge the way you are used to playing. You may find yourself changing the tactics you employ while you PvP in the zone.

Our unique newb isle experience has been polished and perfected. There are now two factions and four outposts. Choose a side and seek out other low-level characters for PvP and XP rewards. Capture all of the outposts by slaying their outpost mini bosses, or defend your claims by beating back would-be usurpers!

Additionally, a win condition has been added. Claiming all 4 outposts for your faction will trigger a campaign reset. If your side accomplishes this feat, you will be rewarded with enhanced experience gains for 30 minutes, and newly-created characters will receive a significant experience bump.

The Outpost System has been removed. It may return in one form later after polishing and further input.

Wrapped Gifts have been removed.

Vorgrim, Bellugh, and Crimson Circle gear have been changed to feel more like a mix between classic versions, but with more modern enchantments based on community feedback.

Vorgrim, Bellugh, and Crimson Circle gear have been diversified and may now appeal to more character types. When a piece drops, it may be enchanted with one of several affixes from the table below.[TO BE ADDED]

Innate damage resistances and penalties for all races have been set to +/-15. (except for Vampire which remain at +/- 20).

Nephilim regeneration reduced to +150%. No longer improves mana regeneration, but now applies in both human and true forms.

Stealth has been reworked to feel more like the classic versions and no longer provides the detect hidden ability.

Sneak has been renamed "Hide". Hide has a 4s cast time, allows movement but at -20% rate, and caps at PR-20.

Stalk has been renamed "Sneak". Sneak is also a stealth power that allows movement, but it is instant-cast and increases movement speed by 50% at PR-20. This power lasts 30 seconds, has a 90-second recycle timer, and caps at 20 trains.

Mage

Shielding's Resistance Buff has been reduced from +30 to +20.

Bard

Song of Fortitude's Resistance Buff has been increased to +20. In addition, it now also resists against Bleeding damage.

Song of Warding's Resistance Buff has been increased to +20. In addition, it now also resists against Mental damage.

Litany of Focus now resists Elemental, Poison, Bleeding, Magic and Mental damage (+20). It lasts for 30s and has a 300s recycle timer. This does not stack with other "Bard Resistance Songs"

Channeler

Flesh of Lead & Flesh of Granite have been reverted to an oldschool classic version. The cooldowns have been increased to 120s. They are single target.

Divine Word of Binding has been reverted. Its Cooldown has been reduced to 120s.

Warlock

Mind Trap has been reverted.

Needs of the One has been reverted.

Wizard

Translocation's Cast Time has been increased from 0.75 to 1.5s. It is no longer interrupted upon taking damage.

Translocation's Cooldown has been increased from 60s to 120s.

Conjurer

Now passively grants +15 Warding and Sorcery

Call of the Dark Lords now summons a ranged caster pet Draatch. The pet casts a weak version of Mage Bolt and a special, stacking variant of Blood Boil.

Dark Lord's Favor has been changed to Dark Lord's Pact, a Single Target Destroy & Drain Pet. This spell is auto granted. 2.5s Cast Time, 300s Cooldown. Has an ATR roll based on Sorcery - drains any target pet of all of its life, healing you for 50% of the damage dealt.

Dark Lord's Boon has been changed to Arcane Binding, a Single Target Powerblock. Powerblocks the target for 8s, granting 24s of powerblock immunity also. 4s Cast Time, 40s Cooldown. Has an ATR roll based on Warding.

Bounty Hunter

Detect Hidden Duration reduced to 15.

Saboteur

Saboteur's With Catlike Tread cooldown adjusted to 300s. Now also grants invisibility. Duration tweaked to 120s at GM.

Black Mask

Detect Hidden added to this discipline. Behaves exactly like Bounty Hunter detect hidden. (does not grant two of these powers if both BH and BM are taken)

Drannok

Unholy Fortitude reverted.

Bloodlust reverted.

Shadow of Fear reverted, but now stacks with other Unholy Resist debuffs.